MIC raises opposition’s hackles

Chief Minister Manohar Joshi had announced that the MIC will be implemented in the BMC on April 1, following approval by the state legislature in its next session in March.

Said Leader of the Opposition Kisan Jadhav, the government was trying to thrust the MIC on the BMC by withholding details from the masses and even corporators. “Corporators are apprehensive that instead of decentralisation of power, the MIC will lead to its concentration in the hands of a few members,” he said. While opposition members were merely apprehensive, AIILSG members ridiculed outright the decision to implement the system, which is functioning in Calcutta.

S S Pore, a research officer of the AIILSG said there was nothing wrong with the present functioning of the BMC, and there was no need for the government to adopt the MIC. The system will concentrate all decision making powers with the Mayor and his 10-member council, and it will be unfair even to ruling party corporators, he opined.

“In Calcutta, the general body cannot pass resolutions on any issue raised by a corporator through a notice of motion. The mayor even has the powers to refuse discussion by simply saying it was not in public interest,” he said.He added that although there were apparent problems like corruption in the present structure of the BMC, bringing in a completely new concept “was like throwing out a pair of shirts just because they got dirty, instead of washing them clean.” Director of AIILSG, Dr H M Golandaz, also said there were many instances of the Calcutta mayor taking refuge behind his unconditional powers to disallow a debate and restrict the corporators’ right in general body meetings. “Under the MIC system, the Opposition will have to form a pressure group against the mayor and also organise themselves to counter arbitrary decisions,” she said.

Dr Marina Pinto, professor of Political Science at the University, also pointed out that the MIC was not introduced in Calcutta overnight. “Calcutta finally settled for the MIC only after experimenting with it several times. While the present BMC structure is a bureaucratic form of urban governance, the MIC will concentrate all powers in the hands of elected representatives. The system is not a big success story in Calcutta, but then any concept is as good or bad as the people who run it,” she added.

Samajwadi Party corporator Ramesh Joshi said that once the MIC is introduced, the BMC will also be `remote controlled’, like the state government. Former mayor and senior Congress corporator R T Kadam said the mayor’s powers needed to be strengthened, but not to an extent that he can steamroll the Opposition.